Heroes Of Faith
What Is Meant By A Hero of Faith?
Hmmm… Heroes of faith? The best way to understand anything is to dissect it. So, what defines a hero? Trusty Google defines a hero as:
A person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his or her brave deeds and noble qualities.
Wikipedia…we all love Wikipedia right…reads as follows:
A hero, is a real person, or a main fictional character, whom in the face of danger, combats adversity, through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. The original hero types of classical epics, did such things for the sake of glory and honour. On the other hand, modern heroes performed great deeds, or selfless acts for the common good instead of the classical goal of wealth, pride, and fame.
Wikipedia
What then is faith? You’ll be glad to know what we have covered what faith is in a previous blog. But to be consistent, I asked Google again. The response was:
A complete, trust or confidence in someone or something.
Looking to the Word of God, the Bible defines faith in the book of Hebrews:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)
Faith is taking God at His Word.
Faith is believing what He has said above what you see.
Faith is knowing that the invisible supersedes the visible.
Faith is the guarantee that what you ask from God, you will receive.
Putting the two together, a hero of faith is an individual who combats adversity, to the glory of God, by utilising the spiritual law of taking God at His Word above everything else.
Heroes of the Old Testament
Chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews is known as the hall of faith, as it contains short biographies of those deemed to be heroes of faith. There’s a fair few number of people list, but I’m going to focus on just three. One male, one female and a place.
Enoch
The first book of the Bible, Genesis, introduces us to Enoch, the son of Cain. Cain, I am sure you will remember, was the man who committed the first murder in human history. Enoch walked the earth for 365 years and was translated without dying, since God took him. Hebrews 11 commends Enoch for his faith which enabled him to be translated from the visible realm of earth, to the invisible spirit realm without passing through the process of death. Without faith, Hebrews 11:6 says, it is impossible to please God, but Enoch had the testimony of pleasing God to such a degree that God took him. He did not see death. Good on you, Brother Enoch!
Sara/Sarah-Formerly Sarai
Sarai faced the major stigma for women of her time in that was she was barren and had no child. The chapters of Genesis detail the discouraging situation she had to endure. But as her story develops, not only does God change her name from Sarai to Sarah (or Sara in the New Testament) but also promises that she will bear Abraham a son. And not just any son, mind you, he was to be a son of the covenant. Admittedly, she had to wait a further 25 years for this promise to be fulfilled, but this was her opportunity to exercise her faith.
In Genesis 21, the Lord visits Sarah just as He had promised and performed to Sarah as He had said. Romans 4 provides enough detail, clarifying that during her 25 years of waiting, Sarah’s reproductiveness had ceased according to natural laws due to her becoming elderly. However, Sarah judged God to be a faithful promise keeper. She exercised her faith by standing on God’s word, despite all the facts presenting themselves in her body. Sarah is commended for her faith, which enabled her to receive strength to conceive and give birth to Isaac, the promised son. Not only that, she enjoyed him for 27 years of his life before she herself passed away.
Jericho
After Moses had died, the book of Joshua tells us that Joshua took charge of the children of Israel. The Lord told Joshua that the city of Jericho, its king, and his mighty men had been given into his hands. The Lord also gave clear instructions as to how he was to go about this. These instructions were relayed to the priests and the children of Israel.
For 7 days, they marched around the city. The first 6 days they marched once a day. The trumpets continually blew as the people remained silent. On the seventh day, they marched around Jericho as they had on the days before, but they marched around it seven times. On the seventh and final time, all the people were instructed to shout when they heard the trumpets blowing. At the last circuit of the city and because Joshua and Israel, by faith, obeyed the instructions given by God, the city walls fell, and Israel captured and destroyed Jericho. Faith is victory!
Heroes of More Recent Times
The heroes of faith are not restricted to characters in the Bible, but they have, and do, live among us. Looking at more recent times, we can look at two persons who are commended and known as men of faith. George Mueller and Smith Wigglesworth have both now passed, but read about their feats and can see how they lived their lives, to achieve mighty works by faith.
George Muller: Hero of the 19th Century
A Christian evangelist of Bristol, England, George Muller, was born in 1805 and died in 1898. He founded schools and orphanages during his lifetime and is known for raising the funds for these building solely by prayer. George depended on faith in God, rather than fund-raising campaigns, to provide for his needs, and for the needs of the orphan children. His reliance on the providing power of God resulted in thousands of needy children in his care being fed, clothed and educated under his care. The 5 homes he built required that he raise £1.5m (£86m in today’s currency), where he obtained each and every penny on his knees, through persistent, and thankful prayer, with faith in God.
Smith Wigglesworth: Hero of the 20th Century
Smith Wigglesworth, an English minister, often referred to as the Apostle of Faith, was born in 1859, and died in 1947. He was known for his unquestioning faith in God’s word, which brought about spectacular results in healings and supernatural signs following his ministry.
In one of Smith’s testimonies from April 1920, he reads from Luke 10:19–22 and says,
It is more important, our unity with Jesus, than anything else. When our hearts are in perfect tune then we can have confidence before God. It is more important than casting out evil spirits, but it brings the casting out of evil spirit. Greater is he that that is in you than the power of Satan. Jesus said I will give you power. Only in the authority of the name of Jesus. The authority of the name of Jesus is in fellowship and cooperation with him.
Smith Wigglesworth
Heroes of the 21st Century
The 21st-century takes us up until the year 2100. This is our era. This paragraph is to be about me and you.
Let’s fill it….
